Leaflets distributed in Donetsk, Ukraine requiring Jews to register with government

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

HOUSTON, TX – With the stench of the ugliest time in all of world history, reports that Jews in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, are being forced to register, and document their property, drew sharp criticism from the United States.

Secretary of State John Kerry stated that, “In the year 2014, after all of the miles traveled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable, it’s grotesque.”

A sentiment echoed here in Houston. Tamara Savage, Managing Director/Director of Public Programs at Holocaust Museum Houston, worries for Holocaust survivors living in Houston, “reading about something like this because it’s so close to home and I’m sure all of them think that in this day in age that something like this is happening again.”

The reported leaflets and posters that were distributed during Passover in Donetsk ordered that Jews living there produce a passport, pay a $50 registration fee, and present documentation of property and transportation. The document was signed “The people’s Governor Denis Pushilin.”

The U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine called the leaflets “the real deal,” but Pushilin denies having anything to do with them calling them “clear provocation.”

But even if they are illegitimate, the fact this trash exists at all is disgusting.

“ADL has condemned these flyers and we’ve called on all parties in this situation to refrain from using cynical and politically manipulative exploitation of antisemitism,” explains Dena Marks, Associate Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

With tensions rising between Russia and Ukraine, moves like this benefit no one and only serve to open old wounds still healing for many.